Fun at Madame Tussauds and all over Sydney

Weekends are always so much fun in Sydney!!
On Friday we went to Darling Harbour to visit the newly opened Madame Tussauds. It is so much fun to dress up and take funny pictures with the celebrities. Almost every site has features to try and costumes to put on. Sometimes you have to look twice to see whether someone is a visitor to the museum or whether they are a wax model. Someone actually came and patted my friends hair thinking he was a wax sculpture because he sat still on a bench.

Madame Tussauds

On Saturday we visited Bondi markets. This was our first visit despite it being right in front of our house. It is located opposite the beach at the public school. On Saturday they sell mainly food and fruit. On Sundays you can shop for clothes and accessoires.

Bondi markets

Saturday night we headed to Newtown for Indian food. The suburb has a long shopping strip with loads of restaurants and cafes. Due to trackwork we had to take a bus from Central to get there. This takes quite a while but the delicious food was worth it. I will definatly go back to see Newtown during the day time when the trackwork is finished. Normally you can reach it easily via train from either Central or Townhall.

After sleeping in on Sunday my roommate and I had a delicious brunch outside and headed for Milson's Point in the early afternoon. From Circular Quay Wharf 5 a ferry departs to Milson's Point and Luna Park. It is located at the north end of the Harbour Bridge. From the ferry and Milsons Point there is an amazing view of the CBD, the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. One of the must-do's in Sydney.

View from the ferry

Horbour Bridge

Sydney Eye Tower

We needed to hurry a bit because we wanted to see the sunset from the Sydney Eye Tower. It is the highest building in Sydney at 304 metres and the sun sets 3 minutes later up there. From the Observation deck you can have a look at the whole city. It was very nice to watch the sunset from there. 
Included in the price is also a short 4D movie about Sydney. 

View of Darling Harbour and West Sydney

Yesterday's intern meeting was fun and colourful. It was nice to meet some of the new interns and I am looking forward to the next meeting. If you have any ideas for fun activities let me know. I am up for trying new things ;)


Cya ;)

Good to know...

Things to do in Sydney

Save 50% on cinema tickets on Tuesdays! Almost all cinemas in Sydney offer tickets for half price on Tuesday.

http://www.sydneyeguide.com/cinemas.php

Free guided walking tour

Guides work on tip only basis and show you around Circular Quay, The Rocks, Martin Place and Hyde Park.  There is another guided tour at The Rocks that teaches you about mystery, crime and historical pubs and breweries. You don’t need to book, just show up.

http://www.imfree.com.au/

Royal Botanical Gardens

There are also free tours available, but you can discover it on your own and enjoy the view over Sydney’s skyline.

http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/AutumnOfTheArts/talks_and_walks

Hire a Camper Van

If you travel with a friend it can be very cheap and comfortable to book a camper van and save on accommodation. Here are some good websites

www.travellers-autobarn.com.au/

http://www.wickedcampers.com.au/

http://www.apollocamper.com/

Airlines for domestic flights

Australia is big, sometimes it is easier to go somewhere by plane. Some Airlines have really good offers, we went to Melbourne with Tiger for only $110.

www.jetstar.com

www.tigerairways.com

www.virginaustralia.com

www.qantas.com.au

General safety suggestions

Australia is amazing, but certain security measures need to be met so your internship and the time in Australia can stay in your mind as a wonderful experience. 

Don't do things you wouldn't do at home.

Don't hitch hike!

Try not to travel at night (most hire vans are not insured if you hit a kangaroo. They usually come out at night so be careful).

Try to travel with a friend.

Ask locals or other travelers for advice on 'safe' versus 'unsafe' local areas.

Never leave your drink somewhere in a club unattended.

Keep a photocopy of your passport and all other important documents in a safe place.

Don’t show big amounts of cash (e.g. when you pay for something)

If you are mugged, don't fight back. It is better to lose a few dollars  than get injured.

Take note of warning signs especially on beaches, there might be jelly fish, strong rips, sharks...

Beware of scams

Lately there have been stories about scams in the news mostly concerning accommodation.

A general advice: when you buy or rent something, don’t send money to people you haven’t seen or spoken to.

Where to get help

    Travel agent

    National embassies

    Local police

   

Tassie Road Trip

We had an awesome time in Tasmania. It has so much to offer, such as amazing views and spectacular landscapes.
My friends and I hired a camper van again to discover it on our own. 
We could feel the winter coming as the nights were freezing cold. Anyway, it was worth seeing.

Autumn

We started our trip in Launceston, where we picked up our camper van. We headed for the East Coast and stayed on a camping site near Scottsdale the first night. Next day we managed to go to Bicheno. We spent one day at Cole's Bay/ Freycinet National Park. We did the walk to Wineglass Bay, which was awesome and the weather was very nice.

Wineglass Bay

Freycinet National Park

Tasmania's landscape is said to look similar to New Zealand. 

Vineyard

The next day we caught a ferry over to Bruny Island. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to go to Port Arthur because of the limited time available.
Anyway, Bruny Island was very nice, too. We wanted to see the penguins living on the island, so we got up at 5am to watch them walk from their caves to the ocean. Due to missing daylight we could only see black figures walking into the water.

penguins

Hobart

The next day we headed to Hobart which is the capital of Tasmania. It has a very nice harbour and village atmosphere, which is strange for a capital city.


On our way back to Launceston we visited Cradle Mountain in the Lake St. Clair National Park. Unfortunately Cradle Mountain was covered with clouds so I couldn't take a quality picture. 


We also visited the Mole Creek Wildlife Park because we wanted to see Tasmanian devils. They also had Wombats and a lot of kangaroos.

young devils

Me cuddling a Wombat

Mob of kangaroos

Australia is so big and so beautiful, I hope I will be able to see some more of it soon. :-)